West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday, 29 September launched a sharp attack on former Chief Minister and All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee, condemning her planned visit to New Delhi for an INDIA bloc meeting and alleging she is aligning with what he termed 'anti-national forces.' Adhikari made the remarks while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event in Kolkata.

Adhikari's Allegations Against Mamata

Adhikari accused Banerjee of engaging with 'ideological Naxals' — a term he used repeatedly — and went as far as requesting central agencies to monitor her movements in the national capital. He invoked the 'Azadi' slogan to question her political associations.

'You are going to plan with the so-called dimagi Naxals. Everyone knows what a person who raises slogans of 'Azadi' can do. I will ask the Delhi Police and the Central IB to keep a close watch and monitor her movements and ensure that there is no meeting with any anti-national forces. She has now become the chief adviser to the dimagi Naxals. She is moving forward with both the Jamaat and the so-called ideological Naxals,' Adhikari said.

Notably, Adhikari himself holds the office of Chief Minister of West Bengal, making his public call to central agencies to surveil the leader of the principal opposition party in the state a significant escalation in the ongoing political rivalry.

The INDIA Bloc Meeting in Question

The INDIA bloc meeting is scheduled for Wednesday at the Constitution Club of India in New Delhi. Mamata Banerjee and TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee are expected to attend. Opposition leaders at the meeting are anticipated to raise concerns over the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls — issues around which the opposition has mounted a sustained campaign in recent weeks.

This comes amid growing friction between ruling parties at the state and national levels over the integrity of voter roll revision processes, with several opposition parties alleging deletions of genuine voters.

Nandigram Bypoll: Court Dismisses Nomination Challenge

Adhikari also addressed the legal challenge to the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Nandigram bypoll candidate Hasirani Rath, claiming that the Calcutta High Court had dismissed a Congress petition questioning her educational qualifications and seeking cancellation of her nomination.

'I received reports from the Calcutta High Court that it has dismissed the petition, which was filed by a signboard party against the BJP candidate from Nandigram,' Adhikari said.

Rath is the mother of Adhikari's former aide Chandranath Rath, who was shot dead in May this year, shortly after assembly election results were declared.

Nandigram and Rejinagar Bypolls: Key Dates

The Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly by-elections are scheduled for 6 October, with counting of votes on 9 October. The bypoll in Nandigram carries significant symbolic weight — it is the constituency where Adhikari himself defeated Mamata Banerjee in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, making it a high-stakes political battleground for both camps.

With the INDIA bloc meeting imminent and bypoll polling day just days away, the political temperature in West Bengal is set to rise sharply in the coming week.